Keke Palmer reflects on surprise voicemail from Will Smith that helped her deal with childhood fame (exclusive)
Palmer ignored the call initially because it came from a "really, really obscure number."
No Independence Day here: When Keke Palmer was considering emancipation from her parents at 17 years old, she received some surprising words of wisdom from none other than Will Smith.
In an exclusive clip from Tuesday's episode of The Toast podcast in support of Palmer's Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative book press tour, the Nope star opens up about a shocking voicemail she received from Smith that helped her through the situation as she grappled with fame at such an early age.
Jason Mendez/Getty; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Keke Palmer; Will SmithApparently, after the young actress talked to her lawyer (who advised her to try therapy with her parents instead), word of her desire for emancipation traveled the grapevine. "Couple of weeks go by and I'm on the set of True Jackson, VP, and I get a call from this like really, really obscure number," she recalled. "And I'm like what? Like this is weird, I'm not answering this."
So Palmer went back to work, and afterwards checked her phone, which had a voicemail from that same strange number — and it turned out to be Smith. Doing her best impersonation of the Hitch star, Palmer recalls him saying, "Hey, Keke. It's Will. We're over here doing Karate Kid with Jaden I just want to let you know I talked to [Palmer's lawyer]. He let me know everything you're going through, and I want you to know sometimes it's hard being the first, but you'll get through. Just keep staying focused, love on your family, and y'all gonna be good."
In the end, Palmer decided not to seek emancipation from her parents, and nowadays, she sees things a little differently — in part thanks to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star's advice. "It's something that happens when you're stepping out, and you could be a child entertainer, or you could be the first person in your family to go to college, or the first person in your family to get married — there's so many firsts that can happen as the generations of your family continue to grow and evolve," she explains.
Palmer continues, "And this was like a difficult thing for me that I felt meant that I had to throw my family away. [But] I've always had, I think a lot of people — whether they're notable names or they're my attorney — that I had a good community, that also my parents made sure I was around, that would encourage community and not like dissension and us breaking apart."
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Brandy, Keke Palmer, Will Smith, and Serena Williams pose at the premiere of Warner Bros.' 'ATL' in 2006Related: Keke Palmer's mom thought Dan Schneider's Nickelodeon sets felt 'weird' and 'cultish'
In her full conversation on The Toast podcast, Palmer talks more about child stardom, the three projects she considers her big break, and her experience working with both Disney and Nickelodeon.
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Watch Palmer discuss the call from Smith above, and listen to the full podcast beginning Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on The Toast’s YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple Podcast pages.
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